Table Tennis player, Bhavina Patel after becoming the first woman from India to qualify for Tokyo Paralympics, becomes the first Indian table tennis player to procure a medal. VoI first spoke to Bhavina Patel and Sonal Patel on July 3, 2021, about their life and career when they had qualified for Tokyo Paralympics.
Read here: Tokyo calling..the two super para-athletes of Gujarat
The player from Gujarat won against the Siberian player, Borislava Peric Rankovic in women’s singles quarter-finals securing a medal for our country. Then, she defeated Zhang Miao of China to reach the finals.
On Sunday, the 34-year-old player took on Ying Zhou from China in the final and was successful to secure silver for India.
The Silver Medalist born in Sundhiya, Mehsana, completed her school education there with the support of her family. It was not until she came to Ahmedabad for an ITI course from Blind People’s Association that she tried her hands on the sport that got her a medal.
Her family has supported her through all the ups and downs which also includes her husband, Nikul Patel who has been through all the thick and thin with her.
PM congratulates her on a phone call
PM, Narendra Modi congratulated her in a tweet and also shared a phone call where they discussed that he has been to her hometown, Sundhiya quite often.
PM tweeted, “The remarkable Bhavina Patel has scripted history! She brings home a historic Silver medal. Congratulations to her for it. Her life journey is motivating and will also draw more youngsters towards sports.”
Vijay Rupani congratulates her
Vijay Rupani expressed his joy in a tweet which is loosely translated as follows:
For the first time, India was gifted a silver medal in Para-Table Tennis by Gujarat’s daughter, Bhavina Patel. I congratulate her, wholeheartedly. She makes every Gujarati and Indian proud. Her historic victory will inspire innumerable athletes.
People express their happiness
Many people from Gujarat expressed their happiness by playing Garba on the streets. The people in her village especially danced to the tunes to celebrate her historic victory.
Others from the country expressed their happiness all over social media by congratulating the Mehsana-born player on her victory.
Rahul Gandhi congratulated her in a tweet that reads, “Congratulations to Bhavina Patel for winning the Silver. India applauds your achievement. You’ve done the nation proud.”
The Gujarat Government also announced a reward of Rs 3 crore for the table tennis player on Sunday for her historic win.
